Sobinski asks Siletski to deliver a message to Anna, however he becomes suspicious when Siletski initially says he hasn't heard of her. When asked to take word to the families of the soldiers at the pub, he agrees, having all the men write down names and addresses. One of the men, Professor Siletski (Jose Ferrer), is able to travel easily between Allied territory and Occupied Poland. Sobinski, who is on assignment in England, is at a pub with a large group of other Poles who are mourning the fall of their country. The Bronskis home is seized by the Nazis and they go to live with Sasha. Warsaw is quickly overrun by the German Wehrmacht. Arriving in Anna's room at night, she notices a pink triangle on his coat which he tells her is the shameful symbol that all gay men must wear under Nazi law, just like Jews having to wear a gold star of David. One of the staff, Anna's dresser Sasha, is a gay man. At first, Bronski refuses but when the Gestapo threaten to shut down the theater, he gives in. One night, officials from the Gestapo arrive at the theater and demand that all Jewish cast and staff report to their headquarters and register. Sobinski himself is an adoring and devoted fan of Anna's and is deeply smitten with her. Andre Sobinski (Tim Matheson), meets with Anna in her dressing room - the line "To be or not to be" was a signal for him to sneak backstage. Bronski is crushed (and actually gives a great performance instead of his usual below-average acting). On stage, he begins to recite the play's famous "To be or not to be." scene and a young Polish army office suddenly stands up and begins to walk out. When the Gestapo forces Bronski to cancel the Naughty Nazis sketch because it insults Hitler, Bronski announces that he'll perform his "world famous Highlights From Hamlet" routine. One of the theater staff asks Bronski if a few Jewish friends can hide out in the basement of the theater. Germany invades Poland and the war soon comes to Warsaw.
Bronski's wife, Anna (Anne Banckroft), always plays second fiddle to her husband: he doesn't see her as an equal and even resorts to putting his wife's name on the playbill in parentheses. Most of of the Bronski Theatre's routines are comic in nature: a very popular sketch is titled "Naughty Nazis" and features Bronski himself playing Adolf Hitler acting buffoonish, singing about how he plans to take over Europe a piece at a time. In Warsaw, Poland, in 1939, a famous Polish actor, Frederick Bronski (Mel Brooks), runs a theater and its troupe of actors and staff.
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